When Alex Caruso first arrived in Oklahoma City, he still had a full head of hair and just a slim chance of making it to the NBA. It was September 2016, and the Thunder had invited him for a tryout, offering an Exhibit 10 contract. This deal included a $50,000 bonus and a roster spot on their G League team, the Oklahoma City Blue.
He was one of six players at the workout, but unbeknownst to Caruso, he was the only one the Thunder`s management and coaches were truly interested in evaluating. The then-Blue coach, Mark Daigneault, who was recruited by Thunder GM Sam Presti from the Florida coaching staff, already admired Caruso`s fierce competitiveness from his college days at Texas A&M. Daigneault recalled a game where Caruso played with such intensity during the second half of a lopsided loss that he wondered if Caruso even knew the score.
Daigneault noted that the other players at the tryout were “respectfully, not professional-level basketball players.” Yet, Caruso still managed to leave a profound impression. “He quickly realized they had no idea what was happening,” Daigneault, now in his fifth season as the Thunder`s head coach, recently told ESPN. “By the middle of the workout, he was coaching the session. He was doing what he does.”
That afternoon, Caruso secured one of the Blue`s final roster spots, earning a $13,000 salary along with his bonus. For one season, he became a spirited leader for the Blue, starting at point guard for a team that finished 34-16 and reached the second round of the G League playoffs.
Caruso credits that season with building his fundamental skills, which were essential in establishing his NBA niche as a defensive specialist, eventually leading to a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers a few years later. He returned to Oklahoma City this season as the “old head” on one of the league`s youngest, most skilled rosters. Eight years after guiding tryout players brought in from Tulsa, Caruso immediately became a veteran presence whose guidance has helped steer the Thunder as they move towards their championship aspirations. Following a last-second comeback by the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the stakes are incredibly high in Game 2, as Caruso and the Thunder aim to tie the series at home.
However, Caruso admits his G League season was frustrating. He kept his focus while Blue teammates received NBA call-ups ahead of him. He was also overlooked for a two-way contract despite support from Daigneault and then-Blue GM Brandon Barnett, now the Thunder`s director of pro personnel. “[Presti] admitted to me,” Caruso quipped in his typical dry humor, “that he got that one wrong.”
Caruso departed Oklahoma City for Los Angeles when his contract expired at the end of the 2017 season. He eventually parlayed a summer league deal into a two-way contract within a few years, filling a crucial defensive-minded reserve role on the Lakers` 2019-20 championship squad. After the Lakers opted not to match the Bulls` four-year, $37 million offer—another instance of underestimating Caruso—he joined Chicago in the summer of 2021, earning two All-Defensive selections over the following seasons.
Presti eventually corrected his past misjudgment by trading for Caruso last summer.
Caruso`s career came full circle back to Oklahoma City, where he returned as potentially the missing piece for the Thunder`s championship aspirations—the quintessential defensive veteran and offensive facilitator with experience elevating superstar teammates.
His influence extends well beyond the statistics. “It`s been fantastic having him back,” Daigneault said. “I enjoyed coaching him back then. But what`s exciting is that now it`s more about the future than the past. Despite our history, we have a long road ahead together.”
The addition of Caruso, alongside center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, helped elevate the Thunder from a contender to a title favorite this season. With Oklahoma City`s young core, featuring MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star Jalen Williams, and former No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, Caruso fit perfectly as one of the league`s most disruptive defenders and an offensive connector experienced in complementing superstar teammates.
“Immediately, I thought it would be a great match just based on what I do and what the team seemed to need,” Caruso said. “And I have a bit of pride and ego about the idea that wherever I go, I believe I`m going to win.”
Furthermore, Caruso, who turned 31 in February, provided invaluable intangibles for a team that is the second youngest to reach the NBA Finals in the shot clock era. “He is an immense competitor, and we want as many of those individuals as possible in our organization,” Presti stated in his news conference after the trade. “Specifically, I think it helps elevate the entire group if you have those types of minds, and we really wanted that heart and intellect within the team.”
Caruso`s on-court role varies from game to game, even quarter to quarter. In the playoffs, this has involved stints as the primary defender on a range of opposing stars, from speedy guard Ja Morant to the 6-foot-11, 284-pound Nikola Jokic. “It`s a lot of fun because he`s a mad scientist genius who likes to adjust and maneuver and find small, intricate details and habits you can exploit,” Caruso said of Daigneault.
His statistical output, particularly offensively, is rarely flashy. He holds career averages of 6.9 points and 2.8 assists, having averaged double figures in scoring only once (10.1 points for the Bulls in 2023-24). However, his relentless energy and defensive disruption demand attention on the court.
His Game 7 performance against Jokic, a three-time MVP, stands out as the most prominent example from this playoff run. It was a tactic the Thunder occasionally used throughout the series, aggressively fronting Jokic with help defense swarming behind. But Daigneault knew it wasn`t “physically sustainable” for Caruso to consistently have nearly a 100-pound weight disadvantage against his primary assignment over a seven-game series. For one game? “Let`s try this early and see how it goes,” Daigneault said. “And then it spread like wildfire.”
According to tracking data, Caruso defended Jokic for 40 half-court possessions that afternoon, the most by a guard in any of Jokic`s career regular-season and playoff games (839 total). Caruso allowed only 0.78 points per play, as Jokic finished with as many turnovers (five) as field goals while attempting just nine shots.
As disruptive as Caruso is defensively, Daigneault advises people to watch him during dead ball situations to truly appreciate his value. He is constantly purposeful, his eyes darting from the scoreboard to coaches, teammates, and sometimes officials. He communicates without dominating the conversation, offering what Daigneault calls “filler lines” to maintain focus on priorities while prompting his teammates to talk.
“He is constantly filling the space with that type of stuff, which in a way allows room for other people to still exist,” Daigneault said. “Sometimes you get a veteran player who feels they must *be* the veteran. They monopolize the conversation, and it can stifle everyone else. He has an incredible sense. I don`t even know if he does it consciously, but he has a great feel for getting his points across, being consistently communicative, but in a way that isn`t suffocating.”
“There`s never any drifting. He is always competitively present.”
Cason Wallace, the Thunder`s 21-year-old second-year guard, found great amusement in noting that Caruso is “the first bald teammate I`ve ever had.”
“That`s high on my list of achievements,” Caruso joked.
Caruso is the oldest player on a Thunder roster with an average age of 24.5, and his teammates frequently tease him about it, providing a consistent source of humor. “It`s always that, which is crazy because I have many years left in the NBA,” said Caruso, who signed a four-year, $81 million contract extension in December, the earliest the Thunder were permitted to offer it.
Caruso views sarcasm as a form of endearment, so he happily accepts the teasing. It was also a priority for Caruso to build trust in the Thunder`s locker room, rather than simply being a know-it-all veteran. Out of respect for his new teammates` accomplishments and potential, Caruso initially eased into becoming a prominent voice within the team. He felt he needed to earn “sweat equity” before becoming overtly vocal. Not that his teammates or coaches perceived any hesitation.
“His version of cautious is still quite verbal,” Daigneault commented.
But Caruso never had to force himself upon his Thunder teammates. They were eager to absorb the wisdom of the only player on the roster with an NBA championship ring. He has taken a particular interest in the defensive development of Wallace, an elite athlete whose on-ball guarding prowess reminds Caruso of his former Lakers teammate, Avery Bradley.
Caruso has tried to teach Wallace the finer points of becoming a dominant force on that end of the floor—knowing every technical detail and the tendencies of every opposing player. “Not arrogantly, but he`s just like, `I`m just going to go guard the guy,`” Caruso said with a chuckle. “For him, it`s just that straightforward where it`s like, `It doesn`t matter if he likes to go left or right. I`m going to guard him, and if he puts the ball in front of me, I`m going to take it.` And I was like, `Okay, yes, that works. Let`s add in a little bit of the mental aspect of the game, too.`”
Daigneault jokes that Caruso`s lessons will fully sink in around the time that “Cason gets some hair on his chest.” Whether he applies it immediately or not, Wallace currently welcomes the input. “Whatever he observes, he says,” Wallace told ESPN. “He`s going to speak his mind. You can also share things with him. We`re all good at listening to each other. That started on day one.”
Soon after joining the Thunder, Caruso ended up taking the lead in the informal player meetings held every few weeks at the team`s practice facility. “We didn`t really have this barrier he needed to overcome,” Williams told ESPN. “We were ready to listen to him. We understand why Sam brought him in.”
“He`s someone we trust. We call him `old head` and so on, but we truly value his experience from being in the G League to now. Our team is very receptive to him and what he has to say. He always says the right thing, which makes us even more inclined to listen. Obviously, he performs the right actions on the court as well.”
Caruso`s commitment to the team is also evident in his patience playing off the bench, never complaining despite averaging only 19.2 minutes per game, his lowest since 2019-20, his first season on a standard NBA contract. Caruso understood the developmental benefits of giving minutes to Wallace and rookie guard Ajay Mitchell, among other young players, especially when the Thunder were maintaining large leads during their push to a franchise-record 68 wins. In those instances, Caruso served as an extension of the coaching staff from the bench.
“You never question his intentions as a competitor or as a team player—ever,” said Daigneault, who describes Caruso as a “warm-weather player,” meaning his value peaks during the playoffs.
Now, in the playoffs, with the Thunder in the Finals for the first time since 2012, Caruso`s impact is best summarized by a single statistic. Oklahoma City has outscored opponents by 16 points per 100 possessions with Caruso on the floor, a net rating that ranks second in the league behind Wallace among players who have logged at least 225 minutes this postseason.
Trailing 0-1 in the Finals after a Pacers comeback, the Thunder will undoubtedly look to their veteran defensive leader to help guide this young team to play a complete 48-minute game.
“He never has a selfish or a noncompetitive moment, and so it just gives him a very strong foundation,” Daigneault said. “He had that even when he was younger than everyone on his team. Now he`s older than everyone on his team.”
